Kit Bashing/ Customizing

I don't know if people still refer to it as "kit bashing", but that's what I called it when I did my original customization of this dollhouse. I started with a sketch of what I wanted to change directly on top of the photo in the instruction booklet. This was pre-Photoshop and before everyone had a computer in their home.... and long before people searched the internet for every little thing. I had to learn as I went along.....making mistakes and learning from them.

You can see how much I actually had to build from scratch when you you see the original photo from the above instruction booklet. I think that's why I'm so attached to this dollhouse...because I put so much time and learning experience into it.

Better Photos of My Hallowe'en House

I scanned these photos this evening to show off my house when it was in its glory. Before my children got old enough to start taking things from it and damaging it. And our old cat....she used to climb on top of it and chew on the chimney. The yard I put on the front was too big to pass through a standard doorway also....so I had to tear it off and build a new smaller one.

This was the relaxation room. Luckily, many things from this room are still in great shape.

This was the Hallowe'en feast!

The front of the house with real working Hallowe'en lights. The skeleton is an earring.

Another photo of the feast. I really miss that silicon jelly. It was so lifelike.

Another shot of the "relaxation room".

Another shot of the front of the house.

The original kitchen.

The bedroom......complete with mini teddy bears...which of course my daughter adopted as her own.

The side of the house. I love making little oil tanks beside my buildings........I don't know why.

One more shot of the feast.

The Second House I Ever Built

This one photo is all that's left of the second house I ever built. I bought the kit when I was living in Arizona, and I brought it back to Canada with me. Some items have survived, but the house itself is long gone.

All That's Left of My Lighthouse

These photos, and the mounted fish are about all that remains of the scratch-built lighthouse I made years ago.

You can see the Wolffish and the tiny painting I did.

This room had the Musky and other things I scratch built.

Photos From The Past

This is how the hallway used to look.......

And how it looked after my daughter and her friend played with it. I have since restored the railing....and made it more secure.

This framed picture of Vincent Price is glued permanently to the wall. A mistake I won't make again. Make sure you can always remove your favorite "paintings" in case you want to put them in a new house.

I was so happy with how this bedding turned out! I always keep my eyes open for tiny prints to make bedding with....and I do the tiny crochet myself.

This was the wooden refrigerator I made. The interior was quite detailed too, but it got destroyed. I'm going to make an even better one!

I'm always adding to the tiny potion bottles!

The main staircase. It's a tight fit......but it allowed me to add on a kitchen.

More Haunted Dollhouse Stuff

Here is the new front entrance. Don't ask me why I chose 137 as the house number....maybe because 13 is considered bad luck and 7 good luck....so they cancel each other out.

The almost empty attic...with the 100% scratch built scythe I made.

One of the real opening windows at the front.

The little porch gazebo.

The completely scratch built electricity meter I made....many, many years ago.

All that's left of the kitchen. My daughter destroyed the toy refrigerator a long time ago. Thank God she's older now. Toddlers like to destroy things.

I used origami paper as wallpaper in this room. The couch is custom made by me as well.

The Little Dollhouse Company Purchases

After a long hiatus from miniatures, I jumped right back in. In April of this year, I bought these wonderful things!

I was eager to get started on this one!

Also, this bathroom kit has long been a favorite of mine. I used it in the upgrade of my Haunted Dollhouse.

These books were wonderful finds as well.

The kitchen table is always a great place to build models...until your husband wants his dinner......

I modified the kit a little and ended up with this great dining room table.

I made this Grandfather clock so that you could manually change the time if you liked.

My Beloved Haunted House

When I first built it....I built a large front yard.

I discovered the large yard didn't allow the house to be moved through a standard sized doorway....so I had to cut it all off.

I began again. Luckily, it was just papier maché, so I was able to add a new front on in no time at all. Please keep this in mind when building a 1:12 scale dollhouse. It needs to be able to fit through a doorway. You never know when you will have to move it.

Polymer Clay Fish

Many years ago....I made these minis for a lighthouse I was building. After my divorce, I had to leave the house behind....but I rescued my one-of-a-kind polymer clay fish. I still have them

This is an Atlantic Wolf-fish...which is supposed to be a really nasty fish.....hence the name "wolf-fish".

This is supposed to be a Musky! I didn't have a lot of reference at the time, so his proportions may be a bit off.

And this is a Spiny Dogfish....a relative of the shark.